Two people were wounded by gunfire on Thursday as hundreds of supporters of Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal buried workers killed in clashes with rivals during by-elections in Karachi. The pro-government Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) won the three National Assembly seats and the one provincial assembly seat by a wide margin, an Election Commission official said, quoting unofficial results for Wednesdayâs by-elections. Nine people were killed in armed clashes during and after the voting, six from the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal. Dozens were wounded. Hundreds of emotionally disturbed charged supporters of the alliance attended their funerals on Thursday. Some were armed with automatic weapons and fired shots in the air after firing from a nearby MQM neighbourhood. Unidentified men set ablaze a party office of the MMA in an eastern neighbourhood on Thursday and two supporters of the Islamic alliance were wounded by gunfire during the funerals. The MMA said they were shot by paramilitary troops. MMA leader Qazi Hussain Ahmed called on supporters to go on strike on Friday to protest the killings and elections which he said were rigged.
| "Yeah! We got waxed! How'd that happen? Riddle me dat!" |
The MQM victory was expected given its strong support among Karachiâs majority Urdu-speaking population. Provincial government spokesman Salahuddin Haider blamed armed MMA militants for the violence and dismissed the rigging charges as ârubbishâ. The national seats fell vacant after the MQM forced three of its lawmakers to resign, accusing them of inefficiency. The provincial election followed the murder of a lawmaker from the opposition Pakistan Peopleâs Party by an unidentified gunman. |